The United Nations has played an important role in mitigating potential military confrontation by promoting international cooperation and developing a legal framework for the peaceful uses of outer space. OOSA, the UN's Office for Outer Space Affairs, prepares and distributes reports, studies and publications on various fields of space science and technology applications, international space law and international cooperation in those areas. In this edition of World Chronicle, Dr. Mazlan Othman, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, talks about space exploration and human development.